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Toolkit

NEA’s School Crisis Guide

A step-by-step outline of what to do before, during, and after any school or community crisis.
Educators hold up signs that read Protect Our Schools Photo by Patrick Ryan
NEA Members participate in the March For Our Lives rally against gun violence in Washington, D.C. in 2018
Published: January 2018
School Crisis Guide pdf cover

Schools experience a wide variety of crises that have the potential to harm the mental and physical health, learning environment, and safety of students and educators.

School crises can be on a large scale, such as severe
violence, hostage situations, and natural disasters that require an emergency response from the community.

Or, they can be more individualized, such as a car accident or the unexpected death of a student.

In NEA's School Crisis Guide, we offer a step-by-step outline of what to do before, during, and after any school or community crisis like a natural disaster. 

  • Prevent: Avoid the occurrence of incidents or lessen the harm done by unavoidable incidents.
  • Prevent: Plan for worst-case scenarios, including a continuous cycle of planning, practicing, and evaluating actions aimed at an effective response to an incident.  
  • Respond: Steps to minimize harm to people and property during a particular incident.
  • Recover: Restore learning and teaching environment after an incident.

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Great public schools for every student

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.